The global financial news network SWIFT and more than 30 international banks announced on Monday that they are currently working on the development of a system that enables cross -border payments in real time and is suitable for various new forms of digital money.
Swift, a central element of global financial architecture, said that the institutes cooperated in the development of a blockchain-based “common digital ledgers”, which is considered decisive for the modernization of international bank transactions.
A precise schedule is still pending, but first the focus is on enabling real-time payments around the clock across national borders. This should not only accelerate the process, but also make it cheaper, since transfers have often lasted several days.
The Swift, based in Belgium, also plans to build on recently carried out pilot projects in order to make its systems interoperable with new solutions. These include systems for stable coins, tokenized bank deposits and digital central bank currencies (CBDCs), such as those developed by China and the European Central Bank.
A decisive advantage of Swift is that its existing network can already be used in over 200 countries and combines more than 11,000 banks with each other that transfer trillions of US dollars every day.
The son of US President Donald Trump and crypto supporter, Eric Trump, recently described Swift as “Outdated”. However, Swift relies on the compliance and resilience requirements required by traditional banks through the integration of blockchain functionalities.
Stable coins, so far a niche product of the crypto industry, is increasingly moving into the mainstream. A report by the Citi-Bank estimated last week that by 2030, stable coins worth up to $ 4 trillion could be in circulation and that trading volumes of $ 100 trillion are achieved annually.
Around 90 percent of central banks worldwide are currently examining digital variants of their national currencies so as not to lose connection to technological development.
Swift explained that the common digital ledger – a safe, real -time transaction protocol between banks – should record transactions, sequence and validate and enforce rules using smart contracts “.
The more than 30 global financial institutions involved in the development and structure of the Ledger include JPMorgan, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, MufG, BNP Paribas, Santander and OCBC as well as several banks from the Middle East and Africa.
(Reporting by Marc Jones; Editor: Jamie Freed)
